- Frances Amato was one of three women that claimed two New York judges did not provide them with proper accommodations for their PTSD
- Gina Funk and Amato were terminated from future actions after not being able to comply with simple court requests
- Amato has a history of pushing failed sovereign legal techniques such as a sovereign immunity request she pushed earlier this year
- Currently Amato has been pushing a failed affidavit with David Jose Watson under the guise it returns children from CPS custody
Frances Amato, a self-proclaimed family activist and follower of sovereign law that goes by Francesca Amato on social media, was one of two people removed from what appears to be a frivolous claim for relief against Judge Anthony McGinty.
What Happened
Joining Amato on the suit was Alana Orr and Gina Funk. The three women made a non-monetary, prospective relief claim against McGinty and Judge Marianne Mizel under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. All three women claimed the judges did not make reasonable accommodation for their post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) during child custody proceedings.
According to court records, the three women were allowed two “final” extensions to respond to a pending motion to dismiss due to their pro se status. The court states the women “failed to allege that they were mistreated or discriminated against because of their disability.” The women claimed they were not able to properly respond to the motion to dismiss due to their PTSD which resulted in “some clerical errors” and the omission of “some crucial facts.” It is not clear what “crucial facts” the women were referring to.
Amato alleged her PTSD was “exacerbated whenever [she] was forced to attend a court hearing.” She went on to claim she was denied “every accommodation requested by her,” but never specifically names what she was denied. “Amato merely alleges in conclusory fashion that defendants knew of her disability and need for accommodation,” the document reads.
Funk also alleged she was unable “to conduct herself as expected in the litigation” due to a lack of accommodations, but also failed to provide what accommodations were requested. Funk followed Amato’s lead and claimed the court knew of her disability and need for accommodations. Both Amato and Funk failed to state an actual ADA claim. Amato and Funk both made “off-base arguments” according to court records. Amato claimed McGinity could have acknowledged that she was the “primary caregiver in the child’s life and not severed their bond.” Similarly, Funk claimed her disabilities could have been accommodated by “returning custody to [her].” Both women appear to simply be angry with the outcome of their family court cases.
Francesca Amato And Gina Funk Terminated
Amato and Funk were both removed from the case, but Orr was not. According to Orr, McGinty denied her an audio recording of the proceedings “as an accommodation for her concentration problems due to her PTSD.” The court also noted that it is reasonably inferred that Mizel knew of her PTSD based on a mental health evaluation. Orr’s request for “adequate counsel” was denied along with several other requests. However, Orr’s claims that the two judges were intentionally discriminating her under the ADA was dismissed. When all was said and done, Judge Gary Sharpe ordered the Clerk to terminate Amato and Funk as parties to any ongoing actions.
Francesca Amato Case Thrown… by discuss on Scribd
Francesca Amato Pushes Sovereign Beliefs
The fact that Amato was removed from the court proceedings for what sounds like an overall lack of knowledge of how to file basic legal actions is alarming since she charges families for “consultations” regarding legal advice when dealing with Child Protective Services. Over the months Amato has become a supporter of nonsensical legal practices often attempted by sovereign citizens. Earlier in the year Amato was pushing a failed sovereign immunity request to her small social media following mainly made up of desperate families trapped within the broken CPS system.

Bradley Christopher Stark
The sovereign immunity Amato encouraged people to do was actually stolen from Bradley Christopher Stark. In 2012, Stark was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $13 million in restitution following a conviction for seven counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud related to his fraudulent securities offerings. Following his conviction Stark began trying to claim sovereign immunity in what appeared to be a hope that he would be released from jail without having to serve his sentence. Stark’s request for sovereign immunity was denied. Despite the failure of the document, Amato adopted it and began pushing it on her following.
Amato claimed the sovereign immunity request was blessed by Senator Rand Paul, a claim that was never verified. Discuss obtained one of Amato’s former follower’s sovereign immunity request that was sent in an email to Paul. The email simply read “Please see the attached being my acceptance, acknowledgment and claim to contract J3:16fGsltwthghobS.” The email included three nonsensical documents related to an alleged contract titled “J3:16fGsltwthghobS.” According to Amato everyone had until February 8, 2019, to send in their requests for their sovereign immunity. Since sending the email to Paul, Amato’s former follower told discuss the only thing that happened is they now receive constant junk mail from Paul. Paul himself never responded, or even acknowledged he had received the email, let alone supported it. All three attached documents can be viewed below.
Acceptance Acknowledgement and Claim by Under and Through Free Will Choice Beneficiary Statement Redacted by discuss on Scribd
Private Law 114-31 by discuss on Scribd
Remedy Relief Final for Distribution by discuss on Scribd
David Jose Watson And David Straight
Most recently Amato has been working with David Jose Watson and David Straight by pushing affidavits that falsely claim to return children from CPS custody. In recent months, Amato has been charging a $50 consulting fee but it is unclear what these consultations consist of. As of now there is no evidence these affidavits have brought a child out of state custody, In fact, there is the exact opposite. Watson promised their affidavit would return a woman named Shannon King’s child by August 9. It didn’t happen. The group of apparent scammers appear to be scrambling to cover up a lack of promised actions from their failed sovereign legal actions. Watson recently took to his Facebook to do a live video claiming a second affidavit must be filed.
According to Watson the first affidavit is asserting an alleged contract. If the affidavit is ignored then for whatever reason it is taken as a victory in Watson’s head. That is when the second affidavit is filed in which monetary demands can be made and those ignoring the first affidavit can be jailed. Meanwhile, in reality, an affidavit is a written sworn statement. Despite Amato and Watson’s claims, an affidavit is not a contract you are entering with the government. While sovereign groups differ in certain areas, most share a common claim that they can receive monetary restitution from the government by filing the correct documents. Watson also claims there is a third step to these affidavits, but says people are not ready for that yet. In reality, Watson’s ridiculous excuses appear to be an attempt to cover up failures such as King and Arlena Willes.

Arlena Willes Arrest
Willes was one of the first to attempt the affidavits after having her autistic teenage son taken into state custody for refusing medical treatment. Despite filing Watson and Amato’s affidavits, Willes was recently arrested for two counts of felony child abuse and her parental rights are close to being terminated. Both Watson and Amato make completely delusional claims without any supporting evidence. Watson claims to be working with President Donald Trump’s human trafficking task force. Amato claims she can get any child out of state custody by making a simple phone call. For whatever reason, Amato will not make that phone call for Willes or any of her other desperate followers on social media.
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[…] a pattern of habitually lying or he is possibly suffering from delusions he believes to be true. On a Facebook post with known sovereign and family rights scam artist Francesca Amato, Gonzalez claimed over 4,000 people are now attending his rally. Again, there is no evidence […]
[…] Read: Sovereign Follower Francesca Amato Has Frivolous Court Case Dismissed […]
[…] Read: Sovereign Follower Francesca Amato Has Frivolous Court Case Dismissed […]
[…] to act AGAINST the parents. In fact, all of them have very colorful and/or criminal pasts. All are sovereign citizens and engage in frivolous lawsuits aimed at the court system they claim not to be subject […]
[…] August, Amato was removed from a lawsuit against McGinty where she claimed she was not provided with proper …. The court concluded that Amato and another woman on the lawsuit, Gina Funk, “failed to allege […]
[…] Amato often piggybacks off Watson by pushing the same affidavits that originate from a group of sovereign citizens supported by Straight. Amato is the face of the fraudulent non-profit organization “Punished 4 Protecting,” which accepts donations for help with CPS cases. Along with accepting donations, Amato charges a $50 consultation fee to assist in CPS cases. Amato is not licensed or educated in any field related to CPS issues and has demonstrated her lack o…. […]